Lake Erie – Erie, PA

I visited Lake Erie in 1969 at a time when it was termed “the dead lake.” Fertilizer run-off as well as human waste dumped into it caused algae blooms and starved the fish from oxygen. While the part I swam didn’t exhibit anything out of the norm and I found it quite nice, the Cuyahoga River caught fire that same year. Well, I’m happy to report that Lake Erie doesn’t look any worse for wear nearly 50 years on, and it was as pleasant as I remember it.

Just some old building Alayne took a picture of on our way to Erie. It looks sort of like a church, but I don’t see a steeple

We get to travel all sorts of roads that look exactly like this

This is an inlet off of Lake Erie at the entrance to Presque Isle State Park

More of that same inlet

From a shoreline perspective, Lake Erie more resembles the ocean than it does a lake. The rolling waves provide constant entertainment with their soothing sounds. I found the water to be warm, although I didn’t swim in it, and it didn’t appear many people ventured far offshore. I’m guessing that like Lake Michigan, the warmer water lies mainly on the surface with the underlying water being much cooler.

With its turquoise water, you could mistake Lake Erie for the Gulf of Mexico. The sand is a little coarse, and the beach is littered with lots of rocks, which does distinguish it from the Gulf

This is a Lake Erie lighthouse. Not quite as quaint as some of those in Maine

That’s me strolling the beach. The water was warm and clear, but I’m guessing the warmth is only surface deep just like Lake Michigan

While in Erie, we stayed at West Haven RV Park. It was very nice, and our site backed right up to the small pond there. Fortunately, we were able to catch up on our laundry before heading to our next two campgrounds, which I’ll elaborate more about later.

More of the beach on Lake Erie at Presque Isle State Park

I think the dead giveaway that it isn’t the Gulf of Mexico is the trees. Trees like these don’t exist there that I’ve seen

It was crowded like this in only a few spots. Otherwise, it was sparsely populated

This was our campsite at West Haven RV Park. It was pleasant enough

After a couple of days in Erie, it was time to move on.

As mentioned, we had plenty of space